In Union County, Georgia, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2020
In 2024, 38 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
Less distressed than 66% of U.S. counties.
What drives Union County's score
In Union County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 58.0. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 19.2. About one in 10 renters (10.0%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 87% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Union County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Even so, Union County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (13.7%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a disability (20.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 58.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.4% · 202434th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.7% · 202442nd percentile
- People with a disability20.1% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- People without health insurance13.7% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,723 · 202446th percentile
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- 55.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202634th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.3% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
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- 48.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.1% · August 202538th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people143.8 · 202557th percentile
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- 20.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.6% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.7% · August 202510th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.0% · second quarter of 202616th percentile
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- 19.2 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent10.0% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.5% · fiscal year 202726th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Union County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Union County, 34.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Union County
Georgia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Union County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Georgia
In Union County, Georgia, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Union County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.2% in 2010 to 12.4% in 2011.
The share of households in Union County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 7.4% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Union County, Georgia.
How Union County has changed
Union County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 24,109 in 2019 to 27,601 in 2024.
Union County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 27,601, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 21,553. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Union County, Georgia.
The number of jobs located in Union County had its largest rise in the last span, from 6,860 in 2020 to 7,856 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Union County more than doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 7,856, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 5,899. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Union County, Georgia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.7% | 2024 11.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,227 | 2024 $67,723 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Union County's history
1820
Gold discovered in Union County in the 1820s. Wikipedia
1832
Formed in 1832, carved from part of Cherokee County. Wikipedia
1930
The Mountain Research and Education Center, the University of Georgia ’s oldest agricultural extension station, was established in 1930 on 415 acres south of Blairsville. New Georgia Encyclopedia
1938
In 1938 the center became one of the founders of the Georgia–TVA Council, which was formed to promote the use of yield-boosting fertilizers in the area. New Georgia Encyclopedia
1991
The Zell Miller Mountain Parkway (Georgia State Highway 515; named for Georgia governor and U.S. senator Zell Miller ), part of the Appalachian Developmental Highway, was completed in 1991 and has greatly strengthened the place of tourism in the Union County economy. New Georgia Encyclopedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 24,632, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1990
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Union County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Union County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Union County, in Georgia and North Carolina, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Union County ranks 4th of the seven; Cherokee County is highest, at 45.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Towns County, GA | 50 | 11.1% | 39.2% |
| Fannin County, GA | 50 | 13.9% | 32.0% |
| Cherokee County, NC | 49 | 15.4% | 45.0% |
| White County, GA | 46 | 10.8% | 29.0% |
| Clay County, NC | 43 | 11.5% | 41.5% |
| Lumpkin County, GA | 43 | 13.0% | 24.6% |
| Union County, GA | 33 | 11.4% | 38.1% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Union County the poorest county in Georgia?
No, Union County's poverty rate was 11.4% in 2024, 128th highest of 159 in Georgia (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Calhoun County, at 36.8%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Union County ranks 151st of 159 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Union County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Georgia Legal Services Program
Legal aid
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Georgia Legal Aid
Legal help website
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Union County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.